Samsung Electronics Q3 operating profit hits 107.4 trillion won, first above 100 trillion
In short
Samsung Electronics said on October 8 that preliminary consolidated third-quarter operating profit reached 107.4 trillion won on sales of 195 trillion won, up 782.5% and 126.6% from a year earlier. Korean outlets reported it is the first time a South Korean company has topped 100 trillion won in quarterly operating profit, and the operating margin rose to a record 55.1%.
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Samsung Electronics announced on October 8 that its preliminary consolidated operating profit for the third quarter (July to September) was 107.4 trillion won, on sales of 195 trillion won. Operating profit rose 782.5% and sales 126.59% from a year earlier, according to Newsis and Maeil Business. Newsis and Maeil Business reported that it is the first time a South Korean company has posted quarterly operating profit above 100 trillion won. [ 1 , 2 , 6 , 8 , 10 ]
Compared with the second quarter, Newsis put the increases at 13.70% for sales and 20.01% for operating profit, while Seoul Economic Daily reported 14.0% and 20.1%. Seoul Economic Daily said the operating margin reached a record 55.1%, up 2.9 percentage points from 52.2% in the second quarter, and that operating profit has set a record for four consecutive quarters. Samsung had reported second-quarter sales of 171 trillion won and operating profit of 89.4 trillion won. [ 2 , 7 , 8 , 10 ]
Seoul Economic Daily reported that operating profit exceeded the FnGuide consensus of 106.0029 trillion won by about 1.4 trillion won, or 1.3%, while sales were about 5.3 trillion won below the consensus of 200.2847 trillion won. Maeil Business put the consensus at about 106 trillion won. Maeil Business noted that Samsung's operating profit for all of last year was 43.601 trillion won, and that brokerages Hanwha Investment, Kyobo, SK and Meritz forecast full-year 2026 operating profit of about 365 to 369 trillion won. [ 8 , 10 ]
Samsung did not disclose results by business division. Both outlets attributed the result to memory chips. Seoul Economic Daily cited shortages of HBM, server DRAM and NAND flash as large technology companies spend on AI data centres, and said Samsung is expanding supply of HBM4 for Nvidia's next AI accelerator. Maeil Business reported that Samsung began mass supply of HBM4 to Nvidia this year. Meritz Securities analyst Kim Sun-woo estimated that Q3 DRAM and NAND shipments rose 3.4% and 4.2% from the previous quarter and prices rose 20.1% and 19.0%, and said memory price gains offset pressure from a stronger won. [ 8 , 10 ]
Seoul Economic Daily converted the result at about 1,400 won per dollar to roughly 76.7 billion dollars, about 20% more than the 63.734 billion dollars in operating profit Nvidia reported for its fiscal 2027 second quarter. Hanwha Investment & Securities analyst Park Jun-young expects HBM to lead memory industry growth again next year, Maeil Business reported. [ 8 , 10 ]
Why it matters
Business outlets attribute the result to demand for AI memory chips, including HBM, server DRAM and NAND flash, driven by spending on AI data centres. Seoul Economic Daily reported that the figure counters market concerns about an AI investment bubble and a peak in memory prices, and Maeil Business reported that analysts now put Samsung's full-year 2026 operating profit at about 365 to 369 trillion won.
Key facts
- Preliminary consolidated Q3 2026 operating profit was 107.4 trillion won, up 782.5% year on year. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 10 ]
- Q3 sales were 195 trillion won, up about 126.6% year on year. [ 1 , 2 , 6 , 8 , 10 ]
- It is the first time a South Korean company has reported quarterly operating profit above 100 trillion won. [ 2 , 10 ]
- The Q3 operating margin was 55.1%, a record, up from 52.2% in Q2. [ 7 , 8 ]
- Operating profit beat the FnGuide consensus of about 106.0 trillion won by about 1.4 trillion won, while sales fell about 5.3 trillion won short of the 200.3 trillion won consensus. [ 8 ]
- Samsung's operating profit for all of 2025 was 43.601 trillion won, less than half the Q3 2026 figure. [ 10 ]
- Business division results were not disclosed with the preliminary figures. [ 10 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Samsung Electronics' preliminary Q3 operating profit was 107.4 trillion won, up about 782.5% year on year. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 10 ]
- Q3 sales were 195 trillion won, up about 126.6% year on year. [ 2 , 8 , 10 ]
- Quarterly operating profit topped 100 trillion won for the first time. [ 2 , 8 , 10 ]
- The Q3 operating margin was a record 55.1%. [ 7 , 8 ]
- Operating profit came in above the analyst consensus of about 106 trillion won. [ 8 , 10 ]
Still unclear
- The exact quarter-on-quarter growth rates. Newsis reported 13.70% for sales and 20.01% for operating profit, while Seoul Economic Daily reported 14.0% and 20.1%.
- Results by business division. Samsung did not disclose division figures with the preliminary results; the role of memory chips is the outlets' and analysts' assessment.
- Whether sales missed market expectations. Only Seoul Economic Daily reported that sales came in about 2.6% below the consensus.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Newsis reports Samsung Electronics' Q3 operating profit of 107.4 trillion won, the first Korean quarterly profit above 100 trillion won. [ 2 ]
- Newsis reports the record 55.1% Q3 operating margin. [ 7 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily reports details including the beat against consensus and the comparison with Nvidia. [ 8 ]
- Maeil Business reports the results with analysts' full-year forecasts. [ 10 ]